Personal Finance News
Half of Americans Cite Finances as Hurdle to Achieving Bucket List
Do you have a “bucket list” of your own? If so, you’re certainly not alone. However, your ability to achieve these items may be impacted by outside factors, including your finances.
According to a new survey from online bank Ally, 84% of adults report having a bucket list — meaning goals they want to reach or experiences they want to have before they die. Unfortunately, many respondents also said that money matters were preventing them from crossing items off of their lists. Half of those surveyed ranked finances as the largest hurdle they had in reaching bucket list goals, while three-quarters put it among their top three factors. Meanwhile, another oft-cited factor was “time.”
As for what types of dreams Americans had on their bucket list, Ally found that 85% included specific world destinations that respondents wanted to visit. In fact, the survey found that the top three most common locales mentioned included Italy, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Interestingly, the most desired destinations varied by generation, with Gen Xers preferring Australia, while Millennials were more likely to select the U.K. and Gen Zers falling for France.
Outside of travel, other top bucket list items included spending time with loved ones (58%), achieving financial stability (50%), and wanting to learn new skills/hobbies (49%). Meanwhile, one-quarter of respondents included “buying a luxury car” on their list, while another quarter expressed a desire to get a tattoo. Speaking of adventurous instincts, 22% listed skydiving as an item and, somewhat related, 20% mentioned overcoming a fear of heights.
Commenting on the survey’s results (and how Ally can help consumers achieve their dreams), Ally Head of Deposits & Invest Anand Talwar said, “We see our customers, who have created millions of Savings buckets, are much more successful ticking off their bucket list items and they accomplish them two times faster.” Talwar added, “Spending buckets take the guesswork out of budgeting so consumers can be confident that an unplanned expense, or impulse splurge, will not impact their ability to pay the bills or add to their savings.”
Even if this survey was meant to plug Ally’s Savings Bucket feature, the results are pretty interesting nonetheless. Although one might suspect that travel would rank highly on a “bucket list,” seeing where Americans of different generations currently want to visit can be eye-opening. Alas, this survey also highlights the intrinsic link that exists between time, money, and experiences. Ultimately (whether they use Ally’s tools or not), those looking to achieve their bucket list items should look seriously at their finances, budgets, and spending to see what can be done about checking off items sooner rather than later.
